RT Journal
T1 Diagnostics urgents: Abdomen.
JF Archives of Internal Medicine
JO Archives of Internal Medicine
YR 1939
FD April 1
VO 63
IS 4
SP 811
OP 811
DO 10.1001/archinte.1939.00180210204014
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archinte.1939.00180210204014
AB What could be called the leitmotiv of this commendable work is the subscript to one of the illustrations: "Appendix of a little girl, operated upon, thanks to her doctor [italics not in text], for a gangrenous appendicitis which had not yet perforated." It is for the general practitioner that this book was written. The physician who has the privilege of first viewing the drama of the "acute abdomen" is the chief object of the author's efforts. He emphasizes, rightly, that the physician who must attend the patient with an acute abdominal condition in his home, deprived of instant access to a laboratory and consultations, bears a great responsibility. The victim's life is on a balance, with time measured in hours on the other pan. The diagnosis and the decision for surgical intervention must be made rapidly. The signs and symptoms which indicate the proper course toward relief and recovery are